- Shabbat and Holidays
- The Three Weeks
- The Ninth of Av
230
This key word "Eicha" – said by Navi Yirmiyahu in his lament which we read on Tisha B’Av – was first used by Moshe in our Sedra this week. In fact, the pasuk with this word is read in the unique Eicha tune. What is the connection between the two?
Moshe begins his elaborate, final sermon to his people, in the last year of his life, in Parshat Devarim. He starts by reviewing the various places where the nation stopped on its ill-fated, tragically-truncated journey to Israel. Yet wasn’t this already covered in last week’s Sedra of Masei – Journeys? Why does Moshe now repeat the stops?
Chazal suggest that Moshe is subtly rebuking the people. Though this is a new generation that did not commit the sin of the Spies, Moshe wants to be sure that they’ve learned their lesson and will not repeat their elders’ mistakes. By retracing the steps Am Yisrael took in the desert, Moshe is sending the message that sin, and failure, is evolutionary, not revolutionary. It comes incrementally, step by step, little by little. It is a process that begins somewhat innocuously, creeping ever forward, until it ultimately overwhelms us. And if we do not stop the
process somehow, somewhere along the way, it will become so pervasive that we will be powerless to prevent it.
That is precisely "Eicha-how" calamity operates.
This is also Yirmiyahu’s message to us. "Al eyleh ani bochi’a," he laments, "about these I cry." "These" refer to ALL the tragedies we have endured in our nation's history. It begins with the very first critical sin we committed, on the "first" Tisha B’Av. We cried because we were afraid to follow G-d’s directive to inhabit Eretz Yisrael. That unappreciation of just how vital Israel is to our existence would eventually lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Bet HaMikdash and all the manifold problems we faced - and still face - including pogroms, Inquisitions, Shoa and the vicious terror campaign being waged against us.
The antidote seems clear: Reverse the "original sin." Come home to Israel, cherish all it stands for, move closer to Hashem and work to rebuild our homeland. In doing so, we will turn the tears of pain into tears of joy. Eicha; that is how it is done.

What Are the Special Laws of Tisha B'av?
Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Av 5783
1. Instituting the Fast of Tisha Be-Av
Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | Cheshvan 21 5782

Three Prophets, Three "Hows"
Rabbi Moshe Erenreich

Were there Fasts in the time of the Second Temple?
Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon | 5778

Playing Darts on Shabbat
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Av 23 5781

The Religious View of the Secular State of Israel
Rabbi Ari Shvat | 5769

Late Return of Flawed Furniture
part I
Various Rabbis | 5773

PARSHAT PINCHAS
Rabbi Ronald Wachtel | Tammuz 5768
Daf Yomi Avodah Zarah Daf 11
R' Eli Stefansky | 3 Tammuz 5785

The Torah - On Beyond our Intellect
Rabbi Avraham Shapira Zt"l | 8 Tamuz 5785

P'ninat Mishpat: End of Tenure of Development Company – part I
based on ruling 77097 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit | Tammuz 5785
